Lead acid battery recovery??

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Tirediron

Seasoned HillBilly
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There are a bunch of u tubes that describe flushing , what I would guess are cell shorted automotive batteries with, baking soda/ water and then water. they then refill them with Epsom salts, trickle charge them and that seems to work, My question is since one has to drain the acid out anyway how about if one was to just flush the crap in the bottom out, figure a SAFE way to filter the acid and re install.
 
A: I'm a skeptic, if it worked well we would have Magnesium/lead batteries available.

B: Filtering the H2SO4: if you want to remove solids filtering is good, but H2SO4 is hydroscopic and picks up water from the air, the removal of water typically requires elevated temperature/vacuum.

Count me out, I spent too many years working with Sulfuric Acid, I'll buy a new battery.
 
while working safe is good , OSHA has become like the EPA . the guys in the battery reman video will have a lot more comfortable time in a post grid world than most "civilized" people.
@ Dademoss, I agree that as long as a person can get a new battery they are probably the answer, I also question the lead base battery theory and am not likely to put the time into finding out if it is viable either.
 
while working safe is good , OSHA has become like the EPA . the guys in the battery reman video will have a lot more comfortable time in a post grid world than most "civilized" people.
@ Dademoss, I agree that as long as a person can get a new battery they are probably the answer, I also question the lead base battery theory and am not likely to put the time into finding out if it is viable either.
Industrial L/A batteries have been refurbished, reconditioned, and rebuilt, for decades.
No, you can't just drop a couple aspirin in each cell and it is magically new again. :rolleyes:
Don't worry about the acid, it is the least expensive ingredient, and in a battery that is toast, likely close to water in PH.
 
A: I'm a skeptic, if it worked well we would have Magnesium/lead batteries available.

B: Filtering the H2SO4: if you want to remove solids filtering is good, but H2SO4 is hydroscopic and picks up water from the air, the removal of water typically requires elevated temperature/vacuum.

Count me out, I spent too many years working with Sulfuric Acid, I'll buy a new battery.
I was exposed to H2S in a lab but did not breath any but it got inside the collar ot my shirt and dissolved in the perspiration on my skin. I still have scars from that close call.

Ben
 
H2S is a whole nother animal. They tried a new new neutralization process for the organic peroxide synthesis we were working on. It generated H2S as a product of the neutralization. We had to order new respirators and cartridges to keep experimenting :p. They abandoned that method shortly thereafter, thank goodness.
 
bearing in mind that while they are available new batteries are the most logical and efficient solution, and sharing the doubts about lead/ base batteries being very viable, perhaps super capacitors may be a lot wiser idea.
 
H2S is a whole nother animal. They tried a new new neutralization process for the organic peroxide synthesis we were working on. It generated H2S as a product of the neutralization. We had to order new respirators and cartridges to keep experimenting :p. They abandoned that method shortly thereafter, thank goodness.
This was the lab where NIOSH certifies those cartridges.

1597558847551 (1).jpeg


The hazardous placard on the door to the lab was

4- 4-4- radioactive

I loved working with that group and the commute was shorter than going to the office.

Ben
 
Industrial L/A batteries have been refurbished, reconditioned, and rebuilt, for decades.
No, you can't just drop a couple aspirin in each cell and it is magically new again. :rolleyes:
Don't worry about the acid, it is the least expensive ingredient, and in a battery that is toast, likely close to water in PH.

Ditto the pH being near water.

Ben
 
Not really sure that I would agree on the acid in all the cells being high PH, lots of times one cell fails and the rest are still pretty active. at least one should proceed that the "acid" is still pretty low ph , or just not play with old batteries perhaps.
 
Not really sure that I would agree on the acid in all the cells being high PH, lots of times one cell fails and the rest are still pretty active. at least one should proceed that the "acid" is still pretty low ph , or just not play with old batteries perhaps.
Yes. We killed batteries with every kind of abuse possible.
If only one cell failed, it was pretty easy easy to diagnose - it was the one the smoke was coming out of ;) . :oops:
H2S, anyone?
If all the cells were lame, the most important part was the autopsy of the L/A battery and determining the 'cause-of-death'.
Excessive charge voltage/current, excessive discharge current, excessive short cycles, inadequate charges, low electrolyte level maintained, physical impact breaking plates off, contaminated water added to electrolyte, excessive heat, being frozen while discharged (and more).

If any of these are not corrected and continue, a new/rebuilt/reconditioned/refurbished/reman, battery will meet the same doom.:(
 
There are a bunch of u tubes that describe flushing , what I would guess are cell shorted automotive batteries with, baking soda/ water and then water. they then refill them with Epsom salts, trickle charge them and that seems to work, My question is since one has to drain the acid out anyway how about if one was to just flush the crap in the bottom out, figure a SAFE way to filter the acid and re install.
I suspect it depends on the failure mode of the battery.

After repeated cycling the surface of the plates start to form peaks and valleys on what was a smooth surface. When the peaks grow large enough they span the gap between the plates and the cell shorts.

Ben
 
My FIL did something with old batteries, added acid to them, my Dad did not do that. I turn them in & get $10.00 store card at O'Reilly Auto parts store. I bought grease rags with them last time. I do not have to junk them or worry about DHEC fines, everyone's happy.
 
Adding acid to lead acid batteries is only good if you have spilled the acid out. Even then you have to add a mixture of acid and water to maintain the PH. Too much acid causes rapid sulfation which will kill the battery. It can make the battery work for a short time but it does not make the battery work longer.
 
All I know is that you must add acid to water.
I do not know what FIL did or how it worked, but it worked.
My Dad seem to think it was easier to buy new battery.
 
Yes. We killed batteries with every kind of abuse possible.
On topic:
One of our main 'go-to' companies was Crown Battery. We taught them well;):oops:.
https://www.crownbattery.com/news/sulfation-and-battery-maintenance
They had to deal with the destruction we did. Good info in the above link.
A Sulfated battery has a buildup of lead sulfate crystals and is the number one cause of early battery failure in lead-acid batteries. The damaged caused by battery sulfation is easily preventable and in some cases, can be reversible.
Battery sulfation prevention doesn't have to be a complicated process. Preforming regular battery maintenance and following charging best practices is all it takes. Sulfation is the number one reason you should not store your battery with an empty charge. Once sulfation of the lead plates has occurred, reversing the effects is highly unlikely, so it is critical to take care of your batteries from the start.
(Does it sound like they are saying: "Please don't kill our batteries!!! gaah")?
 
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